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unit 4 1.1

In this week, we learned about both character and setting in writing. While it does definitely apply to creative writing, it also applies to journalistic writing, as it is still telling a story. We examined the most important parts of a story and, among the points that people brought up, character was directly mentioned multiple times while setting was implied. Descriptive text and imagination alluded to setting, as it was needed so that the reader knows where they are.

A professional example that primarily shows character can be seen in the visual novel Fate/Stay Night.

This week, I learnt the importance of copywriting and how good web design can help attract more readers. Copywriting is a form of writing on online media that is associated with advertising/marketing. It is specifically designed to persuade readers to take a particular action and to raise brand awareness.

Web design helps this. On the Internet, a recognizable and simple website will be visited more compared to another that produces the exact same content, but does it in a clunky, messy way. This is vital, as only 20% of readers will read beyond the headlines. Having a poorly built website reduces that already small percentage.

Why I Write.

The definition of ‘why people write’ is the motivation and underlying reasons for what drives writers. Below is a quote from a professional writer, Anais Nin, which goes into her thoughts on why people write.

“Why one writes is a question I can answer easily, having so often asked it of myself. I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live. I could not live in any of the worlds offered to me. The world of my parents, the world of war, the world of politics. I had to create a world of my own.”

(The New Woman / Anais Nin, 1974)

This prompted an exploration into why I personally write. We studied and examined this as a class after looking into other professional examples of why authors write. Below is my own explanation for this topic.

‘A woman who wants to loathes everything that the world has become. A hero who strives to protect everyone in the name of justice. A man who tries to live a normal life despite the oddities occurring all around him.

They’re all characters. A person who is not real, but has the motivations, desires and fears in the same way as a person who is real. And it all comes back to why I write. Why do I write? What compels me to continue despite the low opinion I have of my own work?

I write because of these fictional people. I write because I love giving them life. Once I know who they are – even if they are just a mess of ideas – I can’t let them go. They are people in my head. I’ll know exactly how they’ll act, what they’ll say, where they’ll go. It allows me to dream for hours, cooking up scenarios that relate to them. A woman who refuses to face the denial she’s lived with. A hero who has to see how grey the concept of ‘morality’ really is. A man who could leave for a simple life at any point, but doesn’t.

In a way, this character-driven work allows me to briefly escape from reality. Escapism to get away from the dull, harsh life that many people have to lead.’

Comparing my own reason to that of Anais Nin, my motivations are far more character-driven. Apart from that, they are similar. I get myself into the minds of my characters, while Anais absorbs herself in world-building as a whole.